[ESSENCE gathers the diagnoses into a whole]

Abstract

Co-existence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, tic disorders, developmental coordination disorder, language disorder, learning problems, and autism spectrum disorder and sharing of symptoms across disorders, contribute to the typical clinical presentation in child psychiatry as well as in developmental medicine. The acronym ESSENCE refers to Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations. Affected children are brought for clinical assessment because of impairing symptoms that raise concern before the age of about 5 years in general development, communication and language, social inter-relatedness, motor coordination, attention, activity, behaviour, mood, and/or sleep. Such children are usually in need of a range of expert assessments, but a holistic approach is rarely taken from the start. Major problems in at least one ESSENCE domain before 5 years of age predict poor mental health later in life. Expert ESSENCE centres for assessment, habilitation and treatment of these children are needed.